Mass Effect: Fractured Empire
by Dirty Reid
Summary: The species happened upon by the Turians at Relay 314 are not a united people, but a dozen quibbling fiefdoms. As they soon learn though, nothing unites a broken Empire faster than a mutual hatred of aliens.


**Mass Effect: Fractured Empire**

**By: Dirty Reid**

* * *

**HNV Aventen's Eye, Hierarchy 17****th**** Scout Force Command Ship, System CC-T-SC-165, 11.188.1546**

For the umpteenth time, Captain Bartus Essalon clenched his talons, the brief flash of pain restoring his wakefulness. He had lost count of how many times he had done so, despite the energizing activity he and the 17th Scout Force had endured over the past six Time Portion Standards.

The 17th had been scouting System CC-T-SC-165 – a dead-end star cluster with nothing of value of in it, save for a helium gas giant – as the end of their patrol. While bored and tired, the crew of the five _Antinax_-class corvettes and the single _Caelax_-class heavy frigate were buoyed by the impending end of their patrol, and the promise of going home to their families. There was little that could derail them now, or so they thought. Ananke, the Spirit of Destiny, had different plans for them it seemed.

As the 17th had been finishing their sweep of the cluster, one of the sensor techs aboard the _Aventen's Eye _had reported a pair of radiation bursts standing out against the backwash from the local star. After confirming them to be artificial in source, Essalon had ordered the corvettes to launch their probes. The images had come back two TPSts later, and yielded unsettling results: Two ships of unknown origin were huddling around the inactive Relay 314. Had they somehow slipped in behind the 17th? It mattered little.

The smaller ship was an odd design. A square body with a wedge-like head and three wings set equidistant apart. The second ship was frigate-sized, and a cause for concern. Wedge-shaped, but with significant engines and sloped in a way that would minimize its target profile but allow its multiple gun emplacements to fire simultaneously. A warship, no doubt about it. Essalon could scarcely believe that a first contact scenario was occurring, never mind that he would be the one at the forefront of it. He felt a weight on his collar as the 17th raced towards the Relay, desperately hoping he would not foul it up.

A hope that soured quickly when the warship moved between the 17th and the smaller ship. Not an unexpected move when five alien ships (Essalon had sent one of the corvettes back through Relay 313 to send word to Palaven Command) come screaming at you. The second problem arose when the _Eye_'s first contact package went unanswered save for a repeating series of numbers. Had these aliens not discovered Prothean technology and used that data format while building their ships? Or had they possibly figured out how to utilize Element Zero on their own? Essalon had ordered a technician to try and interpret the message being sent back by the alien ship when one of the corvettes, _Persistence_, had reported that the smaller ship was transmitting a signal to Relay 314. Essalon acknowledged that these aliens were likely scared and had no notion of the Citadel or it's conventions, but before he could order the _Persistence_ to hold position, the commander had given the order to open fire on the smaller ship with the twin double-barreled mass accelerators that _Antinax_ corvettes carried. The hypersonic slugs slammed into the tri-winged ship, clipping one of the lower wings and leaving holes before shearing off a small portion. What happened next was something Essalon could never have expected; the warship's three large, twin-barreled gun emplacements swiveled in unison, and six lances of eerie green light flashed out of them. It had taken several seconds for the _Persistence_'s rounds to reach the target, despite them firing at a fraction of the speed of light. The rounds fired from the alien frigate impacted the _Persistence_ with an imperceptible delay, resulting in several spectacular explosions. Once the light had died down and the fragmenting husk of the _Persistence_ could be seen on the _Eye_'s high-zoom cameras, Essalon came to a horrifying conclusion: These aliens used energy weapons.

"All vessels, open fire on that frigate!" He barked over a force-wide comm channel. As the three corvettes and the _Eye_ began to warm up their repeaters and spinal cannon, the alien frigate's aft glowed blue and it moved with incredible alacrity. The first salvo from the _Ambition_ and the _Integrity_ went completely wide, but a smattering of rounds from the _Perseverance_ impacted the port side of the ship's superstructure. The lack of a kinetic barrier flare was somewhat of a surprise to Essalon. They had energy weapons, but no shields? That made no sense. He did not have time to muse further as the alien frigate fired again, this set of bolts striking the _Eye_ near the junction of the wing and fuselage. The resultant explosion of energy shook the ship and set off multiple alarms.

"Hull breach on deck three! Activating containment fields!"

"Starboard barrier emitters overloaded!"

Essalon felt his plates itching as he demanded that the gunnery officer acquire a targeting solution on the surprisingly agile ship. The gunner exclaimed his acquisition of a lock when the frigate began a bizarre manoeuvre that involved cutting its engines and beginning a 'flip' of sorts. Essalon's question of what it was doing became clear when a series of hatches on the frigate's ventral side opened and six objects 'fell' out. Red lights ignited behind them, and Essalon quickly realized that the enemy frigate had just launched a squad of fighter craft. Normally this would not be a concern, the corvettes' cannons were designed for close air support in ground operations and engaging small spacecraft, and the _Eye_'s GARDIAN array could pick off objects as small as missiles and torpedoes. What worried him was the possibility of these small strike craft having energy weapons as well.

His fears were proven true when three of the fighters screamed past the _Integrity_ and raked it with green fire. On their pass, the corvette spewed rounds forth, coring one of the fighters and grazing a second's large, hexagonal wing. The forty DSt corvette now sported dozens of scorch marks on its hull, and several holes where the bolts had repeatedly struck. Essalon half-heard reports about the _Integrity_'s life support failing, the activation of Relay 314 taking priority and the small three-winged vessel taking off towards it.

"_Ambition_, _Perseverance_, engage the tri-wing ship! I want it disabled immediately!" He barked. "Gunnery, get me a targeting solution on that frigate, and _bring it down_!"

The alien frigate's sporadic fire dropped to nothing as the 17th made to intercept the smaller vessel. The fighter craft fell in beside it and began taking potshots as they and their mothership screamed towards the Relay. The 17th paid them little heed as they fired ferociously at the tri-winged ship. More and more rounds from the corvettes hit home, and one of the wings was sheared off. The ship stuttered in its path but continued doggedly towards its escape, succeeding as a tendril of energy from the Relay lashed out and flung it countless lightyears instantaneously. Essalon hummed angrily as the _Eye _refocused on the frigate. He was mildly pleased when one round struck true, destroying the frigate's leftmost engine in a spectacular flash of blue, orange and shrapnel. His mood soured when the frigate corrected its wildly altered course and lurched towards the Relay, managing to avoid any more shots from the _Eye_, but getting its sensor dish clipped off before being catapulted away with its fighters.

While duty demanded that these wrong-doers be tracked down and punished for this insult to the Hierarchy, Essalon forced his temper down and ordered his engineering and mechanical personnel to begin repairs on the _Eye_ and the _Integrity_. Though the ships were brought back to working condition in record time, it was not fast enough for him. Those alien ships could have reinforcements massing as he read the report about all ships functioning within acceptable parameters, and that the alien fighter craft that was mostly intact had been recovered. On some level, he knew what he was doing was wrong. He should have attempted to de-escalate the conflict, even after the first shots had been fired. He should order a retreat, file a report with his superiors and pass the problem up the chain. But he couldn't just let the death of the _Persistence_'s crew go unpunished, despite the danger that entailed. Their deaths needed to be avenged, and maybe, just maybe, pursuing these aliens to their world and taking out their naval force would dissuade any further tampering with the Relays.

The whisper in the back of his head persisted as the remainder of the 17th shot through the Relay and began to scan the system they ended up in. It took another two TPSts, but the probes managed to detect a trail of some form of radioactive material, likely fuel from the damaged frigate's engine. The corvettes dispatched their probes in the direction of the radiation trail, and sure enough, they pointed to another active Relay which the 17th dashed towards at full sublight. As they screamed through the Relay, Essalon's unease grew even as they traced the trail of the damaged frigate to a nearby planet. That feeling persisted as the 17th performed an FTL microjump, and became legitimate fear as an alien fleet halted their progress before blasting them out of existence in flashes of green.

* * *

**ENS Afflictor, Eriadu Authority 11****th**** Patrol Force, Sluis Van System, Sluis Sector, 7/11/2157 (Earth Time)**

Captain Cole Varless, commanding officer of the Victory-I Star Destroyer _Afflictor _could not help but pinch the bridge of his nose as the final unknown target vanished from the holo-display.

Aliens. First contact, happening under his watch, and it ended with the 11th vaporizing them. In all reality he shouldn't have been surprised; if historical fiction had taught him anything, this was the most likely outcome. Even if it wasn't, the xenophobia that had existed within the Empire ever since the Great Expansion had uncovered the Mars ruins would have brought about this result. If they hadn't been playing about with those Gates, as they had been called for centuries, this never would have happened, and Varless had voiced that concern when the 11th had been ordered to protect the Sluis Van system. His complaint, while noted, did not deter Rear Admiral Tanda Pryl from ordering him to do so anyway. Privately, Varless suspected that she pressed him to accept this assignment because he had played a part in the assault on Elrood that had forced her, Captain Akal Zed and Moff Villis Andal into swearing allegiance to the Authority. Why Superior General Delvardus had promoted her within months, despite her obvious resentment of his dictatorship, was beyond him. He suspected it had something to do with her being one of the Gifted, but the leader's reasons were beyond his pay-grade to speculate on.

He had more important matters to attend to at the moment, such as analyzing anything scavenged from the alien wrecks and deciding what to do once more Gate-using aliens came to find out what happened to their scout force. Varless had deduced this identity through the after-action footage captured by his ships, and the size of his opponents. Four vessels, the largest half the size of a Tartan Patrol Craft, the smaller only slightly larger than a Gozanti-class support carrier. Despite their pitiful size, he had to give these aliens credit for blowing up an engine on the _Piercer_, one of the Vigil-class corvettes under his command, destroying one of it's embarked TIEs and being able to track them across an entire star system. An interesting piece of relevant information was that none of these ships seemed to use laser weapons, a fact deduced by the small chunk of misshapen metal found lodged in the _Piercer_'s engine block and the pebble-sized projectiles lodged in the mangled Lambda shuttle _Inquest_. Primitive but effective, considering mass drivers were almost completely unused in the arsenals of Imperial weapons. He would have to remember to order his ships to switch over to particle shields once the next fight began.

Ah yes, his ships. The 11th was the last "major" naval force in the Eriadu Authority, but was still considered somewhat of a joke due to its vessel composition. Varless' command consisted of five Tartan Patrol Craft, two Vigil-class corvettes (three, if the _Piercer _was not docked for repairs) an old Acclamator assault ship that had been partly modified to serve as a light carrier, and his flagship, the _Afflictor_. Small, and owing to his ship's low speed, unable to respond with force very quickly. The station that the _Piercer_ was docked at was an unarmed XQ-1 Customs Platform, which was currently pulling as many staff from other duties in order to repair the corvette. The embarked fighter complements on both the 11th and the XQ-1 gave them fifty-three TIE/Ln starfighters, twenty-four TIE/In interceptors, twenty-four TIE/Sa bombers, and a surprising gift from the Superior General himself, a squadron of twelve TIE/It Interdictors that had replaced the _Afflictor_'s bomber complement. One hundred and thirteen starfighters was a decent screen, but Varless did not know if they would stand up to the aliens' fighter craft, or even if the aliens used fighters. Now that he thought about it, Varless did not believe that the 11th would survive the coming battle, despite their apparent technological superiority. Imagined thoughts of the small colony of Sluis Van burning appeared in his mind, even as General Morrison Williams and the 4th Rapid Response Regiment fought to the last man. _No, _he thought. The 11th would not stop these aliens, but Sluis Van could not fall.

The Eriadu Authority controlled a very small portion of the Empire's former territory, especially when compared to High Admiral Teradoc's Greater Maldrood, or Grand Moff Kaine's Pentastar Alignment. If they wanted to survive, expansion was necessary, and Sluis Van was to be the jumping-off point. General Delvardus had attempted to push into the Inner Rim with the intent of taking Bestine IV, a shipyard world that would give them a foothold in the Corellian Cluster, but an informant within his ranks had leaked the information. When Delvardus' First Fleet exited hyperspace with the old-but-mighty battlecruiser _Thalassa _as the vanguard, they had been rebuffed by opposing forces. Nine Star Destroyers, twenty-two escort/support ships and the Star Dreadnought _Lusankya_, commanded by Ysanne Isard herself, Director of Imperial Intelligence and Commander-in-Chief of the so-called True Empire. Delvardus had barely escaped with two-thirds of his fleet, and when the informant was found, according to rumour, he had personally choked the life out of her.

Expanding to the galactic west ended in failure as well. When the _Kabalian Cross _was sent to explore an unmapped region of the galaxy called the Transitory Mists, Captain Shea Hublin was ambushed by an unknown force. They piloted ships never before seen in the history of the Empire, but later revealed themselves as humans when they spoke a jumbled Nordic dialect and opened fire on the _Cross_. Hublin led the 77th Fighter Wing with deadly efficiency, but was injured and ordered the damaged Star Destroyer to retreat. After-action reports and cross-referencing historical star charts led the Authority to the conclusion that these rogue humans were some sort of colony that had been lost with all hands at the beginning of the Great Expansion. While they did provide a buffer against the forces of the Greater Maldrood to the east, their military strength was unknown, and General Delvardus had deemed it too great of a risk after nearly losing Hublin. The only solution remaining was to use the Gates and hope that they found habitable worlds while avoiding any alien lifeforms.

_And look where that got us,_ Varless almost grumbled as he activated the bridge holoprojector, keying in the code that would connect him to Lieutenant-Commander Genovin aboard the Acclamator _Scourer_.

"Captain Varless," Trent Genovin saluted as the connection was established. "What can I do for you?"

"I want a list of the embarked troops, vehicles and air units aboard your ship, Commander." Varless stated brusquely. Rather than speak, Genovin complied and began typing on a console outside of the holo's visual rendering range. Varless' personal datapad vibrated a moment later, and he quickly observed the manifest of the _Scourer_'s forces:

_Infantry:  
5__th__ Line Battalion  
29__th__ Armour Platoon  
Total: 852 Stormtroopers (618 combat, 234 support)_

_Vehicles:  
5__th__ Line Battalion: None  
29__th__ Armour Platoon:  
2-M Saber -class Repulsor Tank x 5  
All Terrain Attack Pod x 1  
HAVw A6 Juggernaut x 1  
HAVr A9 Floating Fortress x 1 (Command Centre)  
Total: 8 vehicles (5 medium repulsor units, 1 artillery walker unit, 1 heavy track unit, 1 heavy repulsor unit)_

_Airships:  
221__st__ TIE/Ln Squadron  
44__th__ TIE/In Squadron  
104__th__ TIE/Sa Squadron  
Total: 36 airships (12 TIE\Ln space superiority fighters, 12 TIE/In interceptors, 12 TIE/Sa bombers)  
Y-85 Titan-class AT-AT Barge x 1  
LAAT/i x 6  
LAAT/c x 2  
Total: 9 support airships_

Varless sighed heavily. The _Scourer_ was carrying less than half of its troop and vehicle capacity; a display of just how short on manpower the Eriadu Authority was. "Genovin, I want everything listed in that manifest planetside, and the _Scourer _in atmosphere providing fire support." He ordered. On the holo, Genovin blinked.

"I understand shipping down the troops and vehicles sir, but shouldn't the fighters and I be kept for use in space?" He asked.

"Normally I would say yes, but the fight that is coming is one that the 11th can't win. At best, all we and General Williams can do is hold off these aliens long enough until help arrives." He answered. Genovin seemed put off by the captain's pessimism.

"Don't you think you're underestimating our chances, sir?" He asked.

"Maybe. But as far as we know, these could be the Protheans whose ruins we found on Mars and those were patrol ships. They have at least fifty thousand years of advancement on us, and they know where our door is. Ten ships, a couple of TIEs and a few thousand troops are not going to be able to stop that." Varless answered evenly. Genovin's expression slowly melted from concern into neutrality as he truly considered his CO's words and the gravity of the situation they had found themselves in.

"Understood sir, I will have the embarked complement on the deck within three hours." He acquiesced. "If I may, do you know when or if reinforcements will be arriving?" He chanced. Varless hesitated. He had sent a distress transmission as soon as the scientists aboard the _Inquest_ had stopped babbling hysterically and spat out a coherent sentence. He immediately ordered them and the rest of the civilians aboard the XQ platform to retreat to the Triton system. The lifeless desert planet was the nearest major intersection of hyperspace routes, and served as a customs and security checkpoint for traffic through the sector. Once there, the fleeing civilians could much more easily spread the word about the impending invasion, and bring the Authority's wrath down on Sluis Van. When they would respond, he did not know.

"I contacted Command as soon as I learned about the situation. Help is on the way, Commander." He finally admitted. Not _technically_ a lie, but he could not afford to lower morale even further. Apparently satisfied, Genovin nodded, saluted and ended the holo-call. As the white noise of the _Afflictor_'s bridge pervaded his ears, Varless continued to ponder his situation, and how to swing the impending battle to his favour. His thoughts wandered to the TIE/It's in his hangar, ships his pilots were beginning to affectionately refer to as 'Punishers,' and the tremendous payload they could carry. As an idea formed, he contacted the commander of Glaive Squadron and relayed his instructions.

He knew the 11th Patrol Force could not stop the alien force he knew was coming, but he knew that they could make them bleed for every step they took into the Eriadu Authority's space.

* * *

**HNV Oma Ker's Hammer, Hierarchy 2****nd**** Sector Fleet Command Vessel, System CC-T-SC-165, 04.197.1546**

The atmosphere aboard the _Digeris_-class dreadnought was one of simmering energy that had persisted for the last six CPSts. The pit crew of the CIC focused intently on their duties, speaking little and moving with alacrity. Amongst the almost vibrating Turians, one stood above them all; as still as a statue, yet projecting even more menace than the five hundred Distance Standard warship he commanded.

Desolas Arterius, General of the Turian Hierarchy and commanding officer of the 2nd Sector Fleet had been contemplating ever since he had received the report from the commander of the _Antinax _corvette _Duty_. The ship had come racing back to the Arrae System, catching the 2nd as they stopped to discharge their drive cores in the atmosphere of Nirrus. The situation brought by the lone corvette was not comforting: An uncontacted alien species tampering with a Mass Relay, and in a system uncomfortably close to the Nimbus Cluster and Athena Nebula, the cradle of the Asari species. As he considered what facts he had at his disposal, he had come to the conclusion that announcing this information to the diplomats would be unwise; knowing that another space-capable species was expanding right under their snouts would cause some disquiet among the population of the Citadel Covenant. To that end, he had quietly contacted Argos Fedorian, Primarch of the Hierarchy, and informed him of the situation.

Fedorian was relatively new to his seat of power, and a surprising appointee considering his relative youth. The reason for this was his approval among the elements of Hierarchy Command generally considered 'Fringe Commanders', those who did not fully embrace the rigidity expected of officers, and would play fast and loose with the rules. Desolas had been a deciding factor, using his family name and clout to influence Councillor Iatro into Fedorian's appointment. The Primarch did not need to be reminded of this, immediately approving Arterius' request to move the 2nd Fleet and move to contain these aliens while presenting the cover story of a policing action, but permitting subjugation _only_ on the condition that they engaged in hostilities. If the _Duty_'s scans of the alien ships were anything to go by, Desolas did not doubt that there would be.

This conviction led him to bringing the entire 2nd Sector Fleet with him piece by piece to avoid attention, instead of dispatching only the 4th Force Recon Flotilla, one of the subdivisions of the force. As such, General Arterius was in command of _Oma Ker's Hammer_, the _Gellix's Lance_ – a venerable _Regnum_-class dreadnought which was slated to be decommissioned by the next Cycle – twelve _Acribus-_class cruisers, sixteen _Caelax _heavy frigates, twenty _Velox _-class light frigates, and ten _Messis_-class supply tugs. Sixty ships, loaded for bear and carrying enough supplies to last them for fifty CPSts lumbered across multiple systems before huddling in front of Relay 314 for just a few moments while multiple probes were sent through. The silence of the CIC would have been grating to most Turians, but Desolas Arterius relished it, taking the time to sharpen his focus. Others, it seemed, did not share his enjoyment.

Desolas shifted his eyes to his younger brother Second Lieutenant Saren Arterius, second-in-command of the 22nd Biotic Warfare Platoon, otherwise known as a Cabal. Saren hunched over the guard rail that elevated the commanding officer above his crew, gripping it so hard that Desolas half-expected to hear the metal creaking in protest.

"Why are we wasting time with probes, brother?" Saren grumbled quietly. "Every Standard we wait is time these aliens can use to prepare."

Under normal circumstances, such a breach of etiquette would be grounds for disciplinary action, but Desolas acknowledged that tensions were running high, and that it was his brother speaking to him. He would let the matter pass just this once.

"We do not know the scope of these aliens' capabilities, brother." He answered evenly. "And neither do we know what defenses they have."

"You think they will be able to match an entire Sector Fleet and its ground forces?" Saren questioned, his vocal subharmonics conveying a note of disbelief.

"Maybe, maybe not. In either case, I am going in prepared. Be patient Saren," Desolas reassured, reaching out and touching his brother's shoulder "you will have your battle."

Saren let out a low hum of annoyance and muttered something about going to re-check his weapons. Desolas could not help but shake his head. His much younger brother had always been short on patience, always pushing to achieve and outshine, and any defeat or delay was beyond unacceptable. Desolas wondered how far his brother's attitude would get him in the Hierarchy before redirecting his attention to the live-feeds from the 2nd's probes. Sprinkled around the other end of the Relay, shrapnel of various size floated about. _A skirmish occurred here_ Desolas deduced. As the probes continued to scan the system, one of them eventually caught sight of a ship speeding past. It did not appear to be a large vessel, and Desolas' eyes were immediately drawn to the sizable engine block. _Patrol frigate_ was his deduction. Surprise came next when he saw the ship slow down, angle one of its gun emplacements and blast the probe with a flash of green. _They know we are here._

"All ships," He announced over a fleet-wide broadcast "this is General Arterius. Today is a day long dreaded by the people of the Citadel Covenant; one that we must face in the name of peace. This is no small thing I ask all of you, but this new species has endangered us all with their careless activation of Relays and the presumed destruction of the 17th Scout Force. It is our duty to reach out to this race and dissuade them from any further actions that could do harm to themselves or us. That is all."

As the General finished his speech, all sixty ships of the 2nd Sector Fleet gunned their engines. Relay 314 shone as bright as a star as tendrils of mass-altering energy shot out and began launching the frigates across hundreds of Light Cycles. The cruiser line followed suit, shadowed by the _Hammer _and the _Lance_, and with the supply tugs bringing up the rear. The blinding tunnel of Relay travel was followed by a nearly inaudible groan as the stress of rapid deceleration acted on the hull, and was quickly replaced by the chatter of the CIC. Almost no time had passed before a communications technician spoke up.

"General, we are receiving a transmission. Unknown source, but… wait… sir, it appears to be in Prothean." He finally announced. Desolas became mildly curious at that proclamation, not bothering to order the message translated, as the officer was already working on it. Moments passed before the final product was sent directly to Desolas' terminal. Prothean did not translate well to Palta - the standard Turian language - or Siari, Kesh'di, Kheelish, or any of the other races' languages. As such, the translation was rather broken, but Desolas could put the pieces together well enough:

_Ships of unknown, you are trespass in _Eriadu Authority _land. Ordered you are to depart, at this now, or you will fired at be._

"At least they can communicate with us now." He hummed under his breath. How they accomplished this was a question for another time as he ordered the comms officer to send a rely translated into Prothean:

"To the defenders of this system," he refrained from trying to say their name, certain he would mispronounce it "we are the Turian Hierarchy. We only wish to discuss the incident between our people. Stand down so that we may begin talks, or we will assume you are hostile and take action against you."

**ENS Afflictor**

Varless' fists clenched painfully tight behind his back as he read the translated reply. It was broken and mangled, but he could piece it together well enough. Seconds passed as he mulled over what to do. The pressure of the gaze of the bridge crew did not help. He knew that no matter what choice he made, the probability of the 11th surviving an assault by this 'Turian Hierarchy' and their sixty ship-strong force was essentially zero. The same fate likely awaited General Williams on Sluis Van's surface, even with the additional troops, vehicles and fire support from the _Scourer_. The only question that remained was how long they would last before help arrived.

"All vessels, ready on the guns and switch to particle shields. All fighters, launch and prepare for combat. Comms, send the following message: If you want our world, come and get it."

It was time for these aliens to pay the blood price.

**HNV Oma Ker's Hammer**

_They do not lack confidence, _Desolas thought as he interpreted the short reply sent by the aliens. He did not know what to expect when he brought the 2nd through the Relay, and had been somewhat surprised at the opposition that awaited them. Five ships of the same class as the patrol frigate they had seen; three larger, heavy frigate analogues that matched the _Duty_'s description; and finally, a large triangular vessel that the sensory technicians tentatively classed as a dreadnought. Desolas immediately noted it's off-putting design, like a dagger plunging through the void. Of particular note was the raised structure on its dorsal surface, possibly a control tower, which was flanked by nine large, two-barreled gun emplacements. All of these ships floated in close range of an orbital station, likely teeming with cannons.

"General, alien ships are launching fighter craft. Count is… seventy-seven." The sensor tech announced. Desolas blinked, these aliens obviously placed a much different influence on single-occupant fighter craft than the Hierarchy. The 2nd fleet only had a fighter complement of eighty to protect them, whereas these nine ships had almost the same amount.

"Status on the fighter craft?" He asked quickly, scenarios percolating in his head.

"Analyzing…" The tech replied. After a moment, she spoke again "General, they appear to be using swarm tactics, a larger wave striking first and a second following." She reported. Desolas hummed in acknowledgement before opening a communication line to the commander of each warship in the fleet.

"Order all fighters launched, form a defensive perimeter around the fleet. _Velox_ frigates form up into four-unit hunting packs on our flanks, _Caelax_ frigates fall back and protect the cruiser line." He rattled off. Over the next moments, he felt the miniscule rumblings of the hull as the two five-unit squadrons of _Spina_ fighters rocketed out of their hangar. The viewport dimmed as the flaring lights of the _Caelax _frigates' engines grew more numerous, and a few of the hunting packs could be seen gliding forward through the small debris field.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Turians, Varless felt a small amount of schadenfreude as the alien corvette-analogues began to advance through the remnants of their scouting force. The reason for his pleasure came from twelve objects carefully hidden in the wreckage that the aliens were now gliding past. These objects took the form of ovoid canisters about two meters long, coated with light and radiation-reflective paint to decrease detection by scanners. As the Turian frigates moved by them, the TIE Punishers that the objects were linked to grew slowly closer. The frigates stopped moving when for some reason, the TIEs slowed drastically. Unbeknownst to them, the twelve pilots of Glaive Squadron transmitted activation signals to the objects hidden in the debris field. Simultaneously, electromagnetic exciter discs on either end of the objects began to release pulses of electricity, exciting the highly unstable mixture of liquid Baradium and Collapsium gas contained within the metal shell. Every pulse of electricity increased the amount of energy shared throughout the chemical mixture exponentially, until even the stealth coating of the shell could not conceal it any longer. But by the time the Turian frigates detected the gargantuan energy buildup in the debris field, it was too late. The Baradium-Collapsium mixture reached its capacity for holding energy, and the result was nothing short of spectacular. A brilliant blue flash appeared with the momentary intensity of a supernova, before collapsing in on itself. As the light faded, the hulls of the Turian 2nd Fleet's vessels suddenly blared a bone-rattling note as a chain of twelve cataclysmic explosions rocked through them.

One frigate unlucky enough to be in close proximity to the explosions was torn to pieces immediately by the shockwave. It's fellow hunting pack members suffered extensive hull breaches and internal damage. Five more _Velox _frigates on the fringe of the explosions reported overloaded kinetic barriers and emitter damage, two of which had had their GARDIAN arrays slagged to varying degrees, and an unfortunate _Caelax_, the _Galvatoryx's Claw_, frantically reported damage to its main gun.

The entire event lasted no longer than ten seconds. From his position in the rear of the formation, Desolas' mandibles hung limp for but a moment before anger at his falling for such an obvious ploy rose up like fire.

Across tens of thousands of kilometers, Varless could not help but grin a little as the holo-image transmitted from cameras aboard his TIE fighters showed at least ten alien ships caught in the blast radius of the Void-7 seismic charges he had ordered Glaive Squadron to plant in the debris field.

"Well done, Glaive Squadron." Varless praised. "FlightCom, order all fighters to press the attack and keep them off balance. All _Vigil_ corvettes, spread out and move to MER. They get in range, open fire. Tartans, shadow the Vigils and keep the heat off them."

As the larger ships began to fan out, the 11th's TIE complement reoriented themselves and burned hard towards the Turian formation. The damaged frigates had barely begun to retreat into the firing arcs of their larger _Caelax _sisters, and thus were slower to react than Desolas Arterius would have liked. The TIE Interceptors, being notedly faster than the TIE Fighters did their best to ignore the frigates, instead shrieking towards the Turian fighter screen. The _Spina_ swarm jetted forward, and despite being hilariously outnumbered, the interceptor pilots dove into the fray, their wingtip-mounted laser cannons flashing green as they dipped and rolled and turned among their foes.

The Turian pilots remained focused in spite of the chaos around them, but a few could not help but consider the ferocity at which these alien pilots threw themselves into the killzone. The alien fighters were incredibly fast and manoeuvrable, and they apparently used direct energy weapons, but their honestly bizarre design was a disadvantage. A spherical cockpit with a small viewport attached to two large forward-swept wings? Granted there was a cutout, giving the fighters a rather blade-like appearance, but were the designers _trying_ to limit the pilots' vision? It did not seem to affect them significantly, as they destroyed three Turian fighters within the first thirty seconds.

It was at this time the forty-one TIE Fighters reached the fray, smashing into their Turian counterparts with tenacity equal to that of the interceptor pilots. Flashes of green lasers, blue mass accelerator fire and yellow explosions lit up before the 2nd Fleet, and it did not take more than three minutes for the Turian pilots to realise that they could not win this engagement. In those minutes, eleven more Turian fighters were either destroyed or crippled, compared to nine TIEs.

"All fighters, this is Flight Commander Arbus! Fall back into GARDIAN range of the frigates, we need to thin these varren-mounters out!" Commanded the senior flight officer. With urgency, the sixty-six remaining fighters veered about and burned hard for the protective cover of the frigates' point defense range. Because they were slower than the TIEs, one fighter was overtaken, and another had a wing clipped off before peeling off to return to its mothership.

The audacity of the TIE pilots rapidly became a boon for the Turians when the small, single-barreled GARDIAN turrets of the _Caelax_ frigates targeted them and began to fire. The reflexes of the pilots did lessen the impact of diving straight into the Turians' effective point defense range, but not greatly. Two TIE Interceptors were blown to pieces, three Fighters suffered damage to their hull or wings, and several more received glancing blows that did minor damage to their various flight systems. While a few of them took pot shots before turning tail, most of the fighters made it out of the GARDIAN range unscathed, or peeled off for repairs.

It was at this point that the TIE Bombers reached the battle. Their plan was to reach effective range and fire their ordnance at the frigate-analogues while the Fighters and Interceptors occupied the enemy starfighters and corvettes. The use of laser point defense by the primitive aliens to ward off the fighters was a spanner in the gears, but the bomber pilots continued undeterred. Targeting computers locked on to the more forward frigates while the after-market electronic warfare suites filled various frequencies with white noise as the Bombers and Punishers fired off their first wave of MG7-A proton torpedoes. Thirty-six high-yield munitions streaked across the void towards their targets. The Turian cruisers and dreadnoughts fired their manoeuvring thrusters in an attempt to evade, as well as opening up with their GARDIAN arrays. Eleven torpedoes exploded spectacularly, and thirteen floated dead in space after being disabled. The eight that were not picked off by the arrays continued on towards their targets.

One cruiser, having shot down three of the torpedoes aimed at it, felt the force of two more rounds hit home. The relative slowness of the round allowed it to bypass the cruiser's kinetic barrier and slam into the forward fuselage and portside wing articulation. The shaped proton-scattering warheads detonated with fifty kilotons of force, rending the ship into three pieces and sending scrap everywhere. One frigate dashed into the path of a torpedo and was vaporised as a result. One round streaked through the formation and managed to core one of the supply tugs. One round exploded on the _Gellix's Lance_'s barrier – they being tuned to stop a wider range of projectiles at the cost of strength – and drained it drastically. The last three torpedoes missed and continued on through the void.

"_Lance_, report!" Desolas barked in concern. The impact of the alien torpedo had thrown the venerable dreadnought out of position by a few Standards.

"_Hammer_, kinetic barriers at seventy-three hundredths and mid-port emitters are overheating." Came the voice of General Septimus Oraka, commander of the _Lance_ and the impeding ground invasion.

Desolas thumped his terminal with a closed talon. The battle had barely started and he was already down fourteen fighter craft, two frigates, a cruiser and a tug, and nine ships were damaged. His mind raced furiously as he examined the battlefield layout. The swarm of fighters were retreating for another run or making for the station to be repaired. Tens of thousands of Standards away, the alien 'light' and 'heavy frigates' had spread out over a wide area. Desolas presumed this was to form a loose screen against hunting packs, but their lack of numbers worked against them. The alien dreadnought had not moved from its position near the station.

He made up his mind in a few seconds. "Gunnery, _Lance, _target the dreadnought. Frigates, press the attack on their light ships. Cruisers, spread out and load troops and supplies to begin the surface assault." His plan of attack would force the enemy dreadnought into play or be destroyed, as well as tie up their frigates while General Oraka's soldiers would only have to worry about those alien fighters. Even then, there were enough frigates remaining for two or three to run escort duty.

Beneath him, the deck rumbled mutedly as the _Hammer _realigned itself and its main gun spat out a fifteen Weight Standard round traveling at one hundredth of the speed of light; a round that the Empire would later calculate to impact with the kinetic force equal to that of approximately thirty-four kilotons of TNT. On the port side of the _Hammer_, the _Lance _fired a round of similar weight at nine thousandths of light speed, which would impact with twenty-eight kilotons of force. Even as old as she was, no one wanted to be staring down the maw of the _Gellix's Lance_.

At their current range, it took just shy of five seconds for the _Hammer_'s round to cross the distance to its target, which was beginning to 'dive' away from the station. The alien dreadnought's energy readings spiked, and the visuals from the near-invisible probes floating around the battlefield showed the ship's numerous small gun emplacements lighting up and spewing green bolts in the general vicinity of the _Hammer _and the _Lance. _What it was doing became clear to Desolas when one bolt impacted the round fired from his ship, creating a momentary flash of superheated metal that dispersed harmlessly. The _Lance_'s round struck home, shattering on a smooth portion of the hull quite close to one of the three axial gun turrets. The ship almost seemed stunned for but a second before it continued its dive, and Desolas was mildly surprised to see that no damage had been done to the vessel. Odd, considering the lack of any discernable kinetic barriers. The dreadnought straightened out and began a lumbering charge towards the 2nd Fleet. Desolas tilted his head to the side as two 'wings' on each side of the ship split open, pondering what their purpose served. He got his answer when a cornucopia of missiles began spewing out of the ship's flanks and streaking across the cosmos towards his fleet.

"General, enemy dreadnought is launching missiles!" One of his CIC officers reported. "Projectile count is… twenty rounds." He finished mutedly.

"Divert engine power to GARDIAN array and forward shields, and prepare for potential breaches." Desolas ordered. The forward barriers actually became visible for a moment as the various emitters went into overdrive redirecting the shields. The missiles entered visual range seconds later, and the 2nd Fleet greeted them with a show of GARDIAN fire. Short-range lasers streaked out from the ships, picking the missiles out of the sky. Thirteen exploded prematurely thanks to the 2nd's point defense, but the remaining projectiles found their marks as the laser fire became less and less accurate. Desolas flinched as one of the missiles struck the barrier in front of the CIC, the explosion stinging his eyes. An operator informed him that the barrier had been depleted to seventy-eight hundredths. A second one hit, and the tech corrected himself by stating "Fifty-two hundredths." Three missiles struck the cruisers, one suffering only damage to its barriers, a second losing its wing, and the poor _Galvatoryx _getting its main gun blown clean off. One frigate managed to juke out of the way of the speeding projectile, but a second was not so lucky, losing its engines. The final missile exploded on contact with an unlucky fighter, the shrapnel clanking against the _Hammer_'s hull.

"_Galvatoryx_, load up your crew and any essential supplies, and prepare to scuttle the ship. Make for the _Shastina_ and _Petra_ and assist where you can." Desolas ground out as he watched the light frigates gathered into packs and surge forward. The alien light and heavy frigates discharged bolts of green light at the hunting packs as they drew closer, scoring hulls and melting systems. Their advantage of energy weapons was not enough to offset the 2nd Fleet's superior numbers, and the alien frigates had to begin evading attacks as the fire from the frigates came at them. Desolas took note of the fact that his ships were faster and more agile than the aliens', as proven when a pair of _Velox _frigates chased down one of the enemy's patrol craft. Granted, the surprisingly heavily-armed vessel did manage to deal significant damage to the hull of one of his ships – albeit with assistance from two of the enemy fighters – but it eventually exploded when one of the frigates' three WSt rounds scored a hit on something vital. In retaliation the alien heavy fighters set their sights on the two frigates, unleashing a barrage of torpedoes and green energy bolts. The GARDIAN arrays did a number on the pursuing projectiles, but the combination of high-speed manoeuvres and firing their spinal cannons left the frigates limited in their defensive abilities, lest the heat buildup incinerate the crew. As such, three of the seven warheads hit home, vaporizing their targets.

Conversely, a squad's worth of the fighters Desolas personally referred to as 'Blades' due to their knife-like wings was chasing down a _Velox_ that had broken formation. The four beams of energy that emanated from its wings seemed to be stronger than those used by the larger group of fighters he referred to as 'Eyeballs', made evident by the rapid wearing down of the larger ship. Power from the GARDIAN arrays had to be sacrificed in order to flee and evade, but even the astounding manoeuvres performed by the pilot could not shake the impossibly agile Blades. In but a few moments, the frigate had been melted or blown apart enough that its engines went out and the husk floated dead in space.

Over another half TPSt, the battle raged. The cruiser line and supply tugs had finished loading their troops and assorted accoutrements, and began launching shuttles towards the surface of the planet. A number of the alien Eyeball and 'Double' fighters peeled off to intercept the transports, but were forced to contend with both the _Spina_ fighters running escort and the swiveling repeating cannons on the shuttles. The divided attention of the fighters allowed the frigates to more easily run down the alien light and heavy frigates. One of the heavy frigates was ripped to shreds as it dueled a hunting pack. One of the _Velox_ frigates was destroyed in the process, and a second lost functionality of its starboard engines, but they had done their job. The two remaining heavy frigates and four patrol craft gathered together, mimicking the tactics of the 2nd, and succeeded in laying down enough concentrated firepower to severely damage another _Velox _and two _Caelax _frigates that were baited out by their advance.

The dreadnought had advanced and unleashed a second salvo of missiles, complementing the green bolts it lobbed at the 2nd. The _Galvatoryx_'s corpse suffered a hit, exploding in a cloud of shrapnel and catching a few unlucky transports in the blast. Another missile blew up against the _Hammer_'s barrier, draining the recharging shields to forty hundredths. The _Lance _took four hits, and a frantic transmission informed Desolas that the barriers were depleted. The cruiser line closed ranks in front of the _Lance_, their GARDIAN arrays picking missile after missile out of the void. The _Valluvius_ took one of the missiles head on, the resulting explosion destroying everything but the cruiser's engine block. The _Baurus _lost a wing and functionality of its right engine to green fire. The 2nd responded to the dreadnought with a wall of mass accelerator fire, no less than nine rounds finding the hull of the lumbering ship. Near invisible coronas bloomed from the impacts of seven of the rounds, the final two shearing off a tower on the ventral superstructure and crushing a smaller turret on the bow. The alien dreadnought, knowing it was outmatched, lurched to the side in an attempt to escape the firing line while tilting forward and opening up with its heavy batteries.

The alien frigates were one by one picked off by the 2nd's superior firepower. Two of the light frigates floated dead in space, atmosphere, parts and small objects drifting away from it towards the planet. A heavy frigate was cored by rounds from the _Diligence_ and _Commitment_, and seven Eyeballs, four Blades, six Doubles and two 'Quad' fighters were erased by the 2nd's _Spina_ fighters, but not before taking out two transports. The two heavy frigates, supported by a handful of fighters, bore down on the _Baurus_ and managed to slag the cruiser while taking total losses in return. The two light frigates fell soon after, unable to compete with the 2nd's firepower during a suicidal charge backed up by their fighters. Soon, only the retreating alien dreadnought remained.

* * *

**ENS **_**Afflictor**_

The knowledge that the 11th had taken its pound of flesh did little to quell the hollow sensation in Varless' chest. Only three TIE Fighters and two Punishers remained with his Star Destroyer. The _Afflictor_'s shields had only just recharged past fifteen percent, but not before these Turians had done their damage. The Flight Communications tower had been destroyed, four light dual turbolasers had been damaged and several systems had been shut down to ensure the weapons, engines and shields remained functional. Based on the reports coming into the bridge, Varless assumed that he had probably lost one hundred hands in the short battle, not including fighter pilots. As he contemplated his next move, an enlisted sailor caught his attention.

"Captain, incoming transmission from Triton Station, marked urgent!" He reported. For all of a second, the yawning despair in Varless' chest did not feel as crushing.

"Put it through." He ordered. A handful of seconds and another impact passed before the holoprojector lit up. Varless gathered himself and stood snapped off a salute as a life-sized hologram of his most despised superior officer appeared before him. Rear Admiral Tanda Pryl's expression of mild disdain did not waver as she returned the gesture.

"Captain Varless, we received your report about a hostile presence in the Sluis Van system marked urgent from the _Inquest_'s crew. What is your current status?" She asked.

"Dire, ma'am. Hostiles are confirmed to be xenomorphic through direct communication. Hostiles are combat capable and invaded Sluis Van space with sixty warships, ranging from corvette to heavy cruiser classifications. The 11th has neutralized eleven capital ships and sixteen fighter craft, but only the _Afflictor _remains combat-capable and the _Scourer _has been positioned in-atmo to provide ground fire support." Varless rattled off crisply. Pryl's only reaction was to blink.

"Understood. I am in the process of scrambling a response force and will be on site as soon as I can. How long can you and the army hold out?" She asked. Varless took a moment to respond.

"I will not be here when you arrive, ma'am. As to the army, I can say with certainty that General Williams will fight to the very last man." He conceded. The Rear Admiral sighed softly.

"Solid copy. Give them nothing, sailor." She ordered flatly. Varless knew that he would not receive anything else remotely akin to sympathy from the woman whose disdain matched his own, electing instead to salute one last time.

"_Quia Gloria Romae_," He uttered the ancient phrase, one which hearkened back to the Empire's conquest of their cradle, Terra. As Tanda Pryl's image faded out, Varless entered several commands on his console.

"All staff, this is Captain Varless. New orders: All personnel not assigned to the missile batteries or propulsion, begin evacuating to the escape pods. Propulsion, dump as much energy into thrust as you can, I don't care if you have to override the safety regulators, just do it. Navigation, set us on a course right down the aliens' throat. Gunnery, acquire targets and fire Pods One through Eighty, then get to your escape craft and make for the surface. Varless out."

As the captain logged off, the rapid hustle of Imperial troops began. Under their feet, the decks groaned in protest as the _Afflictor_ realigned itself and lurched forward into its final charge. Rapid _thwumps-sss_' signaled the rapid launch of the enormous concussion missiles and eighty bright flares of exhaust filled the bridge's viewport, streaking towards the Turian ships.

**HNV**_** Oma Ker's Hammer**_

"… Spirits," Desolas murmured under his breath as the alien dreadnought suddenly charged forwards. _A suicide run_, he realized before barking "Tighten formation! Divert power to GARDIAN arrays!" as missiles belched forth from the vessel's flanks. As the battered 2nd tightened formation, the ultraviolet lasers began firing in concert with the spinal cannons of the _Hammer_, _Lance _and cruisers. Tens of missiles were detonated or disabled prior to impact, made more effective by the overlapping fields of fire. Ultimately, eleven missiles made it into striking distance of the 2nd's ships, destroying another _Caelax_, heavily damaging three cruisers and rendering the _Lance_'s forward barrier emitters inoperable. Its gun remained operational, and it continued to launch rounds at the alien dreadnought. The angular behemoth barreled forward, mostly undeterred by the heavy rounds pelting it. The spinal gun batteries were sheared off; one of the wings bent and warped; the left bulb on top of the superstructure flashed orange as it blew up, but it _still kept coming_.

"Intensify forward firepower!" Desolas ordered, barely suppressing a quaver of fear in his voice. Every combat-capable ship in the fleet began unloading spinal rounds, turning to begin broadsides and unleashing the large, slow-moving Disruptor Torpedoes in an effort to stop the dreadnought's suicidal charge. The deluge of tungsten and fluctuating mass effect fields did wonders to slow the charging ship, rending chunks and strips from its hull and setting off explosions as internal systems and weapons overloaded. The torrent of fire did its job, and the dreadnought faltered, losing its course and drifting, but not before grazing a _Velox_ frigate whose engines had been damaged in the skirmish and could not evade in time.

The only sound aboard the bridge was the beeping of consoles. All of the Turians were unsure of what to do as General Arterius hung his head and clenched his talons. His chest burned as the gravity of this… _humiliation_ finally set in. It had cost the Hierarchy twelve ships to bring down an alien fleet of nine vessels. Twenty hundredths of his fleet's strength gone, and incalculable damage to repair. It was too much. He slammed his talon on his console, startling the crew.

"All units, General Arterius. Frigates, target that station and blow it to pieces. All maintenance crew, begin repairs; and all onboard soldiers, get your gear and get planetside, we will need every last Turian to bring this Eriadu Authority to heel." He rattled off before staring at the holographic depiction of the planet below him.

Their first step was done, now it was time to break into a run.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Well, here I am again. If you're wondering why I put this out, it's because I've gotten stuck writing **_**One Last War**_** and I needed a palate-cleanser. If you're confused about the history of this story, don't worry, it will be explained. Also, couple things I'd like to address**

**WARNING: LOTS OF MATH AHEAD.**

**One thing that hasn't seemed right to me about the Star Wars Universe is the range of weapons. Wookiepedia states that an MC90 Star Cruiser's turbolaser range is only 75 km, which is a tiny distance in space. Conversely, a Venator can make a shot able to hit a target ten light-minutes away. For context, that is approximately 180 million km, which is greater than the distance between Earth and the Sun. Wildly inconsistent, right?**

**So for this fic, I will be writing using these general assumptions:  
1) The range of a capital ship's turbolasers is between 25 000 km and 75 000 km, with dreadnoughts or specialized turbolasers being capable of up to 100 000 km.  
2) The range of laser cannons on capital ships is between 500 m and 5000 m.  
3) The amount of energy in a turbolaser bolt ranges from 25 kilotons (light turbolaser) to 500 kilotons (heavy turbolaser).  
****4) The range of laser cannons on snubfighters is between point blank and 2000 m.  
5) The amount of energy in a laser cannon ranges from 1 kiloton (light laser cannon) to 20 kilotons (heavy laser cannon) **

**In regards to the units of measure the Turians were using: **

**Human-to-Citadel Standard Conversions**

**Hour level: 1 Time Portion Standard (TPSt) = 1.67 hours (100 min)  
Day level: 1 Cycle Portion Standard (CPSt) = 33.40 hours, 20 Time Portion Standards per CPSt  
Year level: 1 Standard Cycle (StC) = 400 CPSt (13 360 hours/556.67 days per Citadel year)**

**1 Light Portion Standard (LPSt) = 1.67 Light-hours  
1 Light Cycle = 1.44 x 10^13 km (14.4 trillion km/8.95 trillion miles)**

**1 Distance Standard (DSt) = 1.89 m/3.28 ft**

**1 Weight Standard (WSt) = 2.13 kg/4.69 lbs**

**1 Temperature Standard (TSt) = 3.1****C/5.58****F**

**Location Classification**

**CC-T-SC-165 = Citadel Council – Turian – Star Cluster 165**

**Citadel Calendar**

**11.188.1546 = 11 TPSt – 188 CPSt – 1546 StC (Post-establishment of Citadel Council)**

**2357/4 = 589 leap years  
2357 – 589 = 1768 years  
1768 x 365 = 645,320 days  
589 x 366 = 215,574 days  
645,320 + 215,574 = 860,894 days  
(860,894 – 212)/556.67 = 1546 years**

**Now since you're finally through all that uninteresting stuff, please:**

**1) Tell me whether or not you liked this chapter  
2) Tell me what you specifically liked about this chapter  
3) Tell me what you didn't like about this chapter  
4) Recommend a suitable improvement**

**Until next time,**

**DR**


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